Lately, I’ve been harping about the value and importance of curating the quality of your clientele… From determining how much marketing you really need to do… To identifying the bad news bears clients… To understanding why putting up with those grumple-pusses hurts your business… To how you go about ditching said offenders for good.
But let’s say your biz has progressed beyond the early day of “take what you can get” and you’re marketing your biz ENOUGH to be discerning about your client selection. Yet you still seem to wind up with bad clients… What GIVES!?
Like the Song Says: You Get What You Give
Believe it or not, the chief culprit is likely YOU. Huh!? Yup, YOU! Now, you’re probably saying to yourself: “Nuh-uh!?” But here’s uncomfortable truth: The energy you’re projecting essentially magnetizes the clients you attract. In other words, whether you’re consciously putting out the call or not, the universe gives you EXACTLY what you ask for…
Now, Don’t Get Derailed By The Woo-Woo Factor…
Treading into metaphysical concepts, like “energy” and “attraction” and the “universe,” might seem a bit “woo-woo” (a technical term meaning “kinda out there”). I assure you, however, that’s NOT the case. In fact, there’s plenty of hard data supporting the hypothesis that your particular personal style, the attitude you project, and your overall approach to your business summons the clients you usher into your ranks.
In short, if your negative traits shine through, you’ll wind up with bad clients. And I’ve seen this at work first hand…
Case Study: The Law of Attraction
In my former life, I worked in residential real estate marketing. I was acquainted with two realtors; let’s call one C- and the other H-. Both were consummate professionals, both helmed highly successful realty businesses, and both were respected and well-liked.
C-‘s Approach
C- was detail oriented, precise and efficient, with a warm, friendly and open demeanor. She was a genuinely nice person, a fact that was clearly evident in her conduct. C-‘s clients were consistently pleasantly, respectful and generally easy to deal with home buyers and sellers. And her dealings with other Realtors were typically smooth and conflict-free.
H-‘s Approach
H- was equally as warm and friendly, and generally considered a well-liked, nice person. H- was even MORE detail oriented, to the point of frequent micro-management. And he exercised a level of precisions usually reserved for real estate attorneys (whose job it is to look for problems… Or, as some might argue, create problems). It’s probably fair to say H- had a bit of a “lawsuit phobia.” Additionally, L- was often quiet anxious and could be persnickety at times, and was no stranger to conflict.
H-‘s results cut quite a contrast to C-… H- was involved in his fair share of lawsuits, often wound up with clients that were even more severe micro-managers than he, and was frequently embroiled in conflicts with cooperating Realtors representing the other side of deals.
Different Styles = Different Clients
Clearly, the two Realtors opposing styles garnered markedly different clientele. Most of us would rather have C-‘s clients. But lots of us end up with H-‘s clients. And that’s largely because you’re attracting the WRONG kind of clients.
So the question now is: How do you attract the RIGHT kind of clients? And we’ll get to that juicy goodness in my next post!
In the Meantime…
What’s your ideal client’s personality type? In other words, if you could choose your client’s temperament, what would that be? Stop by my Google+ page and spill the beans on your ideal client criteria!